It has always been a desired object among vehicle manufacturers and designers to provide vehicle fuel tanks with interruption valves which on the one hand function as per their intended purpose (e.g. roll-over valve, venting valve, over filling interdiction valve, vapor recovery valve, separator valve, etc.) whilst, on the other hand, shut down a fuel filling process only when the fuel has reached a maximum level within the tank, i.e. leaving a minimal “dead space” within the tank.
The term “dead space” refers to a volume of the fuel tank which remains empty when the tank is filled at a maximum level. The term “buoyancy level” denotes the level at which a control member within the valve (typically a buoy member) displaces from an open position to a closed position in which an outlet port of the valve closes, thereby shutting off the filling process.
The fuel filling process is normally terminated when the liquid reaches the buoyancy level within the tank, whereby the control member within the valve displaces into a closed, sealing position so as to seal an outlet of the valve, resulting in pressure rise within the tank and fuel rising within a fuel pipe of the tank whereby a filling spout fitted with an automatic shut-off sensor ceases the fuel flow into the tank as known per se.
On the other hand, there is an increasing demand for designing fuel tanks which require minimal overhead space of the vehicle, namely with minimal projections extending from surfaces of the tank and with maximum ratio of tank volume versus filling capacity. For that purpose, there have been designed suitable fuel valves which are received within the fuel tank. Such valves however, significantly project into the fuel tank, as compared with conventional valves, having a relatively low buoyancy level, thereby shutting off a fueling process at an earlier stage as compared with fuel valves projecting above the fuel tank.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a fuel valve wherein the shut-oft level is significantly higher as compared with prior art valves and extends substantially adjacent a top wall of the tank, thereby reducing the dead space to a minimum, without interfering with the valve's function.